Noodleboro Fun Park Sharing Game
by Hasbro
List Price:
Our Price: $5.98
You Save: $20.01 (77%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Toy
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: HasbroBrand: Playskool
Model: 40507
Product features:
- The learning to share fun park game helps preschoolers learn about social skills and sharing
- Filled with midway games and carnival fun kids play together
- The game comes with a storybook and audio CD so kids can see, hear, play and then live each life lesson
- Meet the Noodleboro kids and reinforce sharing with songs, stories and tips found in the companion book CD
- Educational preschool game.
Toys and Games Reviews of Noodleboro Fun Park Sharing Game
Customer Review: Not a bad idea, but it will stay on the shelf
Summary: 2 Stars
I like the idea of the Noodleboro series. Anything life lesson that can be broken down into game form is helpful to small kids who often can't put issues like social skills into terms they can understand. With a 4-year-old that has two younger brothers, pushing the concept of "sharing" had me interested in this game, and its price was inviting enough to give it a try.
The concept puts you at a carnival/theme park where there are four games (which are based on rides for some reason - I guess to not encourage kids to want to play carnival midway games) you can play, with each game having a prize attached to it. However, you can only win a prize once, so if you play the game (and win) a second time, you give your prize to a fellow player, and a "sharing star" is placed on the board. Play continues until the "park closes" (one side of the playing die makes time progress) then the sharing stars are counted.
The message isn't bad - things like this can be preachy, and the game doesn't beat you over the head with sharing. You're still looking out for #1 when you start the game, trying to win prizes. However there is no incentive for "sharing" those prizes after winning the first one; the player is forced to give the prize to another player, and the reward is a community reward. While the ideal world says that people are charitable solely from the good of their heart, almost all charity is done with some kind of incentive given to the donor, whether it be a free tote bag, tax writeoff, or even the positive feeling one gets by helping. No trade-offs, no individual recognition - just figure out which player hasn't won that game yet and give them the prize, and if everyone already has the prize, just dump it in the middle of the board (you're sharing your prize with the Noodleboro Gang) and put a star on the board. Do too much sharing so that the players have more than 6 sharing stars on the board? Just put the stars off to the side and keep track of them. Yay. When the game ends, count up the stars and try to do better next time!
[I'm serious - there is no "winning" in the game or even a goal to achieve. The instructions tell you to add up the stars and try to beat that score the next time you play. Everybody wins, or nobody wins, depending on your half-glass view.]
The main issue though, goofy messages and scoring aside, is that the games aren't fun to play. There are four games:
- Ferris Wheel: Wheel has three colors. Pick color, spin wheel. Get it right, prize. Get it wrong, no prize.
- Tents: Basically 3-Card-Monte. Tents look the same on the outside, different pictures on the inside. Pick one, have another player mix them up, and try to find the one you picked.
- Roller Coaster: Catch the Plinko chip. A small (I'd say the size of a penny) chip is put into the top of a clear plastic device, and the player has a stick with a round surface at the end the size of a quarter. Drop the chip, and try to catch it.
- Log Flume: Balance a small ball on a forked stick while moving it through a twisting piece of plastic.
I know I'm not 3 years old, but the Ferris Wheel and Tents are throwaway "games" that are based on dumb luck (which would be why they're used in gambling). The Roller Coaster would probably be fun if the Plinko board (I have no better word for it) was more than 8 inches tall. You're just sticking the stick under and hoping it lands. Only the log flume game involves anything bordering on "skill", and my four-year-old can do it, so it's not like I'm talking complex skill.
Your mileage may vary. My son loved playing the game the other day and was talking about "sharing stars" even after we were done playing, so maybe I'm expecting too much out of the game. But at the same time, I don't know how likely it will be that he'll pick the game again if given the option to pick from several. He's already passed it up twice since that initial game. Given the opportunity I would not buy this again, even at the bargain price.
Description of Noodleboro Fun Park Sharing Game
Introduce preschoolers to the concept of sharing and fair play with this fun game. In Noodleboro Fun Park, kids visit the Ferris Wheel, Log Flume, Circus, and more to earn sharing stars for the group. An audio CD and a storybook enhance game play. Hasbro Games. Ages: 4+Board Games Toys
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